Appendix A: Parallel Passages
This appendix is gives a selected anthology of passages from
Hindu scriptures whose intent is similar to the ideas of the Vajrasuchika
Upanishad.
I am a poet, my father is a doctor, my mother a grinder of corn.
Rigveda, 9.112.3
“From the Supreme Being arise the Holy Sages
From the Supreme Being (arise) these Kshatriyas
From the very same Supreme Being are born the Brahmins
From the Supreme Being (arise) the food producing third caste (Vaishyas).”
“The Supreme Being are indeed these Shudras serving the Kshatriyas,
The Supreme Being are all they who perceive (i.e. all living creatures).
The Supreme Being are all these benevolent officials
The Supreme Being are all these members of the assembly.”
“The Supreme Being are the fishermen,
The Supreme Being are the servants,
The Supreme Being indeed are these gamblers.
Man as well as woman originate from the Supreme Being
Women are God and so are men.”
Atharvaveda (Paippalada Samhita) 8.9.8-10
"I do not know this, Sir, of what family I am. I asked my mother. She
answered me: 'In my youth, when I went about a great deal serving as a maid,
I got you. So I do not know this, of what family you are. However, I am
Jabala by name; you are Satyakama by name.' So I am Satyakama Jabala, sir."
To him he then said: "A non-brahmin would not be able to explain thus. Bring
the fuel, my dear. I will receive you as a pupil. You have not deviated from
the truth."
Chhandogya Upanishad 4.4.1-5
“Listen about caste, Yaksa dear, not study, not learning is the cause of the
twice-born status. Conduct is the basis, there is no doubt about it.”
Mahabharata III.312.106
“O King of Serpents! He in whom are manifest truthfulness, charity,
forbearance, good conduct, non-injury, austerity and compassion is a Brahmin
according to the sacred tradition.”
Mahabharata III.180.20
“O Serpent! He, in whom this conduct is manifest is a Brahmin, he in whom
this is absent treat all such as Sudra.”
Mahabharata III.180.27
“The gods consider him a Brahmin (a knower of Brahman) who has no desires,
who undertakes no work, who does not salute or praise anybody (with a
selfish motive), the fruits of whose deeds have exhausted and who maintains
equanimity.”
Mahabharata, XII.269.34
“If one’s birth were to decide one’s caste, then all should be Brahmins
because all humans beings have one Father- Prajapati (God, the protector and
master of all creatures).”
Shukraniti, Chapter 1
“Vyasa, born of a dancing girl, became a great Rishi;
Hence, it is tapas that makes one a Brahmin, and not his birth.
Sakti, born of a Chandala woman, became a great Rishi.
Hence, it is tapas that makes one a Brahmin, and not his birth.
Parasara, born of SwapAki, became a great Rishi;
Hence, it is tapas that makes one a Brahmin, and not his birth.
Vyasa, born of a fisherwoman, became a great Rishi;
Hence, it is tapas that makes one a Brahmin, and not his birth.”
Note: Tapas = performance of austerities, pious deeds, meditation and
adherence to truth.
Srimad Bhagvata Purana
